Alexander Rzechowicz leaps off a wall in Newcastle's CBD while training in the sport of parkour. (ABC Local:Robert Virtue)

It's a drizzly, cool evening in the New South Wales city of Newcastle. The sun has set and the glowing red and yellow car lights meld together like a kaleidoscope.

In the distance (above the grumbling engines and occasional sirens), the sound of feet slapping onto concrete echoes around a plaza in the heart of the CBD.

However, the sound isn't that of smartly-dressed office workers rushing to get home after a long day battling away at their desk jobs; but rather, it's coming from a group of enthusiastic athletes practicing their urban sport.

They run. They jump. They scale imposing concrete walls. They balance on slippery metal handrails with ease. They commando-roll across the pavement. They spur each other on.

Welcome to the world of parkour.

A different kind of sport

Twenty-two-year-old Alexander Rzechowicz's eyes narrow with determination as he turns to face a three-metre-high concrete wall near the Newcastle City Council building.

Dressed in a tight black t-shirt, baggy black tracksuit pants and sneakers, he starts to sprint at the wall. A short distance from the cold, hard barricade, he leaps towards it, propelling himself forward with a powerful jump. He reaches up in mid-air, grabs the ledge above and heaves his torso and dangling legs up in a single (apparently easy) swoop.

"I remember when I first got told about parkour and I thought, 'there is no way in hell I'm doing it, that's crazy! Those guys are nuts,'" he said excitedly after intentionally dropping off the wall back onto the pavement below.

"Parkour is a method of moving; it's getting from A to B as quickly and efficiently as possible."

Alexander joined the sport almost four years ago, after he decided he wanted to improve his fitness.

His initial hesitation about joining soon evaporated as he learned the skills and manoeuvres.

"The efficient part is really important to us; that means not only efficiency in speed, but also efficiency on your body as well. We don't do things that will destroy our body over time, because that's not efficient on you," he said.

"We train so we maintain ourselves and maintain our bodies.

"When people see us doing these crazy things like jumping off stuff, it's because those guys have had years of training and they've maintained their body to the point where they can do those things without injuring themselves."

On the run

Parkour in Newcastle is a growing sport. Running and jumping with Alexander this particular evening are five other people (both men and women of varying ages); but he says during summer, the numbers escalate.

Newcastle's parkour participants are adamant their sport is not an 'underground' activity in the local culture.

They train and compete in public spaces, and are respectful of people sharing the environment around them. They've even got to know some of the local security guards who patrol hotspots in the city.

Alexander said parkour gives people a chance to see a wide variety of locations around Newcastle - from Civic Park to the Nobbys Beach breakwall, to other hidden nooks and crannies.

"There are a whole lot of tiny little spots, little things that you would never see before," he said.

"It's one of the great parts of this type of activity - you'll see parts of your city that you have never, ever seen before. It's a really good way to explore."

Mind over matter

So what's it like - leaping off buildings and scaling walls like Spider-Man?

"It's funny, it's not like you get some sort of different feeling from it. It's just training to move better," Alexander said.

"When you've got that two or three seconds where you're just gliding in the air, it's fabulous."

As the group of keen participants continue to stretch and warm-up their bodies, Alexander chats enthusiastically. He's pumped-up, ready to tackle obstacles without fear or favour.

As the group's leader and instructor, motivating is part of Alexander's job. He's got to convince the participants (who have varying degrees of experience) that they can do the stunts; that he believes in them; and that they should believe in themselves.

"It is 110 per cent mind over matter," he said.

"I have seen a huge change in my students: they're more confident, they're happier, and they're less likely to injure themselves.

"Parents tell me, 'I've never seen my kid look so happy doing a sport.' Most popular sports are about elimination of the weaker team. There's no eliminating in parkour, there's no competing; it's about competing for yourself, so you try to make yourself better."

A sport for (almost) all ages?

Frank Henderson is 59 and a passionate parkour participant in Newcastle.

He started in the sport just over a year ago and loves it.

"It was mainly just doing the exercising that I'm in to," Frank said.

Alexander Rzechowicz said age and skill level are no real barriers for people wanting to try parkour. Frank is testament to this.

"It's a huge misconception that you need to be a certain kind of fitness to do this," Alexander said.

"You can come at any point in fitness, because we can always break-down any move that we do to a point where you can do it."

As a gardener and handyman, Frank's days are filled with physical labour.

He said parkour is helping him to develop agility and mobility.

"One of the stunts they do is climbing the walls, and that's about the only one I'm really capable of at the moment," Frank said.

"I am [noticing a difference]. I'm feeling pretty fit at the moment.

"I do feel it (muscle soreness) a little bit over the next couple of days, but it's not too bad."

Frank brings his two sons along to parkour each week, and finds that being with the younger participants spurs him on.

He's already set himself the challenge of vaulting up the wall near the city council building in the next several months.

"[The encouragement from the younger guys], I find that exhilarating and it gives me a boost to come back," he said.